Bulgaria to Facilitate Listing on the Stock Exchange – Deputy PM

Deputy Prime MinisterDaniela Bobeva has said that the government is working on a package of measures aimed at facilitating the listing on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE).

Bobeva attended Tuesday a forum titled "Restarting the Economy" attended by ministers and over 700 representatives of the business sector at the National Palace of Culture.

She suggested that it was necessary to boost listing on the BSE.

Bobeva's statement came in response to comments from the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA) on unused opportunities for the Bulgarian capital market.

Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister, as cited by econ.bg, boasted that the privatization of the BSE had attracted exceptionally strong interest.

The BICA proposed that minority packages of state-owned companies are listed on the BSE.

BICA representatives claimed that this would stimulate the development of the capital market, thereby injecting fresh resources in these companies.

The BICA also suggested that public projects could be funded by raising capital through the BSE.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski argued that Bulgaria was still unprepared to list minority packages of state-owned companies on the BSE.

Bobeva also announced that the fees collected by the Registry Agency for registrations in the Trade Register would drop by 22%, adding that the measure would deprive the state coffers of around BGN 4 M but it would be beneficial for the business sector.

She explained that the government was to approve the decision on the 22% reduction this week or next week.

Bobeva said that the government would discuss simplifying procedures under 26 regimes, including ones in the construction sector and the abolition of the requirement for small companies to provide preliminary schedules of annual leaves.

Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister claimed that the deadline for the completion of the e-government project by 2020 was not worrying, adding that it could be reconsidered and shortened.